Nightfall
by Drachenfluegel
Summary: After her brother is killed by Cortex Coco Bandicoot has only one thing in mind: taking revenge on the doctor ...
1. Chapter 1

Author's note: Although english isn't my first language I'm writing this story in english and I hope I don't make too many grave mistakes. If there should be any mistakes that disturb the legibility of the story feel free to tell me, but please do so via mail or message and not in the review section.

Anyway, thank you for your attention and enjoy the story!

_**Nightfall - Chapter 1**_

Thunder roared through the dark night, the soon following lightnings illuminating the scene. Cold rain was dancing around the five shadows gathered on the clearing.

Another lightning crashed, lighting up a sixth figure lying motionless on the wet grass. Blood trickeled from several wounds on its body, forming a circle of blood around the wounded shadow lying there.

Laughter broke the eerie silence. The smallest of the five silhouettes approached the lying figure, laughing devilishly.

"Now say goodbye, you pesky rodent!", it said, took out a gun and aimed it at the helpless figure.

The cloud that had covered the moon so far moved over, finally allowing the cold rays to enter the clearing and reveal the identities of the shadows.

Lying on the bloody ground, heavy wounded and almost unconscious was Crash Bandicoot. He was barely breathing, his eyes were wandering along the persons that encircled him. Dingodile, N. Tropy, N. Gin and, standing over him with a gun in his hands and a wicked grin upon his face, was his archenemy, the man who had put him and his sister through unbearable pain and torture, threating their both' lives more than once, who made his entire life become a never ending nightmare and who woud now put an end to all of this.

Crash closed his eyes, not wanting Cortex to see the tears in his eyes.

"Crash!"

The weary bandicoot reopened his eyes and tried to move his head. He sensed somebody approaching him but couldn't figure out who it was..

"Crash!"

Black fog crept into his sight, making it hard for him to focus on his surroundings. He let out a faint moan. Suddenly somebody was kneeling by his side, holding his shaky hand. Looking up his eyes widened.

"Coco ..." he whispered. He couldn't hold back the tears any longer now.

"Oh Crash, please don't do this to me", his sister pleaded. She rested her head on her brother's chest, clutching his hand firmly. Her sobbing grew stronger while her tears dropped down onto Crash's wounded body. "Please don't do this to me ..."

Cortex sighed. "Enough of this", he barked.

Dingodile immediately grabbed Coco's arm and pulled her to her feet. Ignoring her screams of protest he dragged her away from her brother. Crash couldn't see what was going on for his mind was drifting into unconsciousness, but he felt losing the grip of his sister's hand.

The last thing he heard was the bang of a shoot, followed by a scream.

And then, finally, there was no more fear, no more pain. Only peace.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Nightfall - Chapter 2**_

The night seemed to be endless. Although the rain and the thunder had stopped some time ago the sun just wouldn't rise. It seemed as if the world was grieving over the death of its last hero.

Or maybe Coco just felt as if it was dark around her, maybe the sun stood high, maybe the sky was blue and cloudless, but in her world there was nothing but eternal darkness.

The female bandicoot wrapped her thin arms around her knees and rested her head on them. Her eyes were dry and bloodshot from all the crying, her jeans as well as her once white shirt were filthy and her usual shiny blonde hair was a mess. Dry mud covered her skin.

Coco buried her face in her hands. To her slight surprise she noticed that she was crying again; a sinlge teardrop rolled down her cheek before it touched her left hand. Sobbing slightly Coco raised her hand and regarded it. She discovered dry blood sticking to her skin. Crash's blood. Coco closed her eyes to stop the rising flood of tears; she felt like she would die if she shed one more tear. Instead she sank back into the darkness that surrounded her. The memories of the last night, still fresh in her mind, didn't allow her to come to rest. Whenever she closed her eyes she saw her brother, lying defeated and helpless on the ground while Cortex aimed his gun at him, enjoying his triumph, saw all the blood again, saw the tears in Crash's eyes, all the pain and fear he had to feel before Cortex had pulled the trigger ...

Uttering a desperate sigh Coco opened her eyes again, rested her heavy head against the cold wall she sat in front of and whimpered softly. Searching for a way to escape the memories that waited for her inside her mind she let her eyes wander around her surroundings.

She was in Cortex castle, locked in a tiny, windowless cell. The only light came from a light bulb dangling from the ceiling high above her.

After Cortex had killed her brother there was not much Coco remembered. She knew she had tried to reach her brother in time, but of course she had been no match for Dingodile. Then she couldn't remember anything, apparently she had been out cold for quite a while. The next thing she remembered was Dingodile carrying her through a long, dark corridor and eventually throwing her into this rotten cell, closing the door with a mocking "Goodnight, sheila".

At first Coco had been in some kind of trance. Then she had been angry, shouting and screaming on top of her loungs. And then the pain had come, making her huddle into a corner and sit there for the rest of the night. Coco had never cried so much in her entire life as she had done in this single night, the darkest of all nights of her life.

Suddenly her laid back ears picked up the sounds of footsteps in the distance. Someone was coming down the hallway.

Coco closed her eyes, waiting motionless for the person to come. Hearing the steps coming closer and closer she wondered who was coming for her. Cortex himself? Or his trusted henchman N. Gin? One of the other scientists? Or would the doctor send one of his minions to finish her off?

Coco bit her lip. All in all she did not care for who was going to kill her, in fact her only concern was the question how they would do it. But then again nothing could ever top the pain she experienced in this very moment.

The footsteps had reached her cell. Waiting for her executioner to enter the female bandicoot tried to focus on the only thought that had kept her from going insane during the night.

_When I'm dead I'll be with him again ... he'll wait for me in the light, take me by the hand and smile to me. And then we'll both step into this light that will finally bring the peace we've been waiting for so long ..._

The door swung open, revealing a tall figure standing in the hallway.

Coco gasped when she realized who this figure was.

"What ... what are _you_ doing here?"


	3. Chapter 3

_**Nightfall - Chapter 3**_

"Well", the tall, muscular bandicoot answered, frowning at Coco, "what do you think I'm doing here? Come on, let's get outta here before someone comes along and makes me your fellow prisoner."

Coco slowly stood up, not exactly trusting her numb and shaky legs. Crunch, although nervously keeping an eye on the hallway, offered her his hand. Standing properly Coco stepped out into the corridor, clutching Crunch's hand firmly.

"It's okay Coco, everything's going to be okay ..." the male bandicoot assured, gave his younger friend a short hug and stroked her matted hair.

Coco closed her eyes and buried her face in Crunch's chest as she started sobbing once more. "He's dead ..."

Crunch nodded slightly. "I know ... and trust me, Cortex is going to pay for it. But for now we have to worry about ourselves." With that he carefully shoved the sobbing girl away from him and took her hand instead. "You're not hurt, are you?", he asked.

Coco shook her head no.

"Okay, let's go then." Crunch cautiously made his way down the gloomy hallway, peeking carefully around every corner they passed before allowing Coco to follow him further. Leaving the leadership to Crunch Coco regarded her surroundings. Apparently they were in some kind of labyrinth deep down under the earth, on the bottom of Cortex' castle. Every now and then they would hear a soft moan or a scream, coming from one of the countless cells they moved past. Coco soon stopped counting them, realizing there were simply too many prisoners Cortex had taken.

Being deep in thoughts she didn't pay attention to what happened around her so that she suddenly bumped into Crunch who was scanning a side corridor for possible enemies.

"Coco!", he angrily barked. "We'll never be able to escape without being noticed if you don't concentrate!" Just as Coco opened her mouth for a reply Crunch's ears perked up; he brought a finger to his lips, indicating Coco to be quiet.

"Someone's coming", he whispered. Both bandicoots looked around them, searching desperately for a possible hideout. Coco finally spotted an empty cell, its door unlocked.

"Over there!"

Crunch didn't reply but grabbed her hand and dashed off toward the cell, quickly shoving Coco inside and closing the door behind them.

Coco held her breath when she heard footsteps coming closer. She pressed her body close to the wall. Crunch, however, positioned himself directly by the door, pressing his ear against the thick wood while his glance rested on Coco.

She looked up to meet his glance.

"I won't let them hurt you", Crunch growled.

Against her will Coco flinched at this remark. It was the kind of thing Crash would always say to her when she was afraid. She closed her eyes, not wanting to cry again. "Don't make promises you can't keep", she murmured quietly, but Crunch was too busy to hear her.

The footsteps grew louder, every step bringing the unknown enemy closer to the bandicoots' hiding place.

Then the steps reached their cell. Coco felt cold shivers running down her spine. Trying to calm down she pressed a hand on her mouth and bit her finger, the pain wiping away everything from her mind. Crunch raised his metallic arm, his hands clenched to fists, ready to strike.

The footsteps passed the cell without stopping.

Coco let out a sigh of relief, as did Crunch. The fugitives waited for the person to leave the hallway, then they left the hideout and continued to sneak through the dungeon.

"Whoever just crossed our way", Crunch started, "has probably been instructed to look after you, which means that your escape will be detected soon. See the staircase over there?", he asked and pointed to an even darker corridor. Coco nodded, nervously biting her lip. "If we manage to go through the door at the top of the staircase we're almost safe", Crunch explained, still keeping an eye on their surroundings. "The door is kind of an secret entrance to the castle ... and it's not even guarded."

Coco frowned at the thought of Cortex making such a grave mistake.

"Which, on the other hand, isn't necessary since the door is blocked by heavy rocks on the outside ... and that's not the only problem." Crunch waited a few seconds, then continued: "The room right at the bottom of the staircase is the lounge of the guards, so we won't be able to sneak up the stairs without being discovered ..."

"Oh _great_ ...", Coco uttered sarcastically.

Crunch raised his hands in defence. "The only other exit I know would be the main entrance, and believe me: we'd have a hard time dealing with all the lab assistants there, and I don't think that you're in the right condition to -"

"Okay, fine then", Coco interrupted. "We'll try your way. Do you at least have a plan?"

"Yeah, and it's pretty simple. We run up the staircase and I'll try to open the door as fast as possible." Crunch shrugged his shoulders. Before Coco could protest he had already pushed her into the hallway.

"Remember, we have to stay unseen as long as we can", Crunch whispered in her ear. Scurrying as fast as they could both bandicoots made it up the staircase. Coco darted a glance over her shoulder whereas Crunch threw himself against the heavy door with all the strength he could muster. The door burst open but the rocks on the other side didn't move, still blocking the bandicoots' escape route.

"Crunch!", Coco cried out. Three lab assistants stood at the bottom of the staircase, staring at the bandicoots through lifeless eyes.

Crunch lifted his metallic arm and began smashing the door, hoping the blows would push the rocks away from the door. Coco watched in horror as the drones slowly approached them, their arms streched out, ready to seize the bandicoots any moment -

"Yeah!" With one last hit the door flung open, the rocks rolling away in every direction. Crunch and Coco quickly jumped over the obstacles and ran as fast as their legs could carry them into the near forest.

Darting a last glance back Crunch noticed a small figure standing behind one of the windows of the castle, its eyes sparkling in the darkness. Crunch couldn't help it. He stopped in his tracks, crossed his arms and glared at the well-known silhouette. "We'll meet again doctor", he shouted, "and then you will pay for your deed!"

Coco, however, kept on running through the cold night, kept on running away further and further from this nightmare. She just wanted to go home, even though she knew that, without her brother being around, no place on this earth would ever feel like home to her again.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Nightfall - Chapter 4**_

The morning sun rose slowly over the island, constantly pushing back the unruly night.

Aku Aku, guardian of the good spirits and protector of the free souls, had waited all night for his children to return home. Continuously observing the thick jungle that surrounded his and his children's house the wooden mask floated around, his uneasiness growing with every minute.

Crash and Coco had left the day before to go for a longer walk, but when they hadn' come back after sunset Aku had begun to worry; therefore he had sent out Crunch to follow the siblings' trail whereas he would wait at the bandicoot's hidden residence.

A soft noise coming from the jungle caught the mask's attention. Someone was working his way through the undergrowth, breaking branches and trampling bushes. Aku Aku turned towards the sound, praying with all his heart to see t_hree_ bandicoots stepping out of the jungle ...

Crunch shoved one last branch aside and emitted a sigh of relief at the sight of the peaceful cottage. "Finally", he muttered and stepped out onto the clearing. Coco hesitantly followed, her eyes blinded by the sudden light. As soon as she had reached the clearing she fell to her knees, panting and trembling heavily, feeling nothing but complete and utter exhaustion.

"Where is Crash?"

Since Coco remained silent Aku Aku turned to Crunch. The giant bandicoot bit his lower lip, darted a worried glance at Coco and took the ancient mask aside.

"He's ... he's dead", Crunch stuttered, trying to give his voice a steady sound. "I found his corpse on a clearing in the middle of the forest", he continued with clenched teeth. "Cortex obviously shot him with his laser pistol. I tried resuscitation but I was way too late, there was nothing I could do. And then I found this", his hand disappeared in his trouser pocket and took out a pink flower, "and presumed that Coco was taken captive by the doctor. So I checked on Cortex' dungeons and eventually found the poor thing."

The mask and the bandicoot both turned their attention to the weeping girl.

"That bastard probably shot her brother right in front of her eyes", Crunch spat out, hate and disgust in his voice.

Aku Aku stared at Coco for a long time. Crunch had always regarded the bandicoot's guardian as a rather detached character, but now every inch of the floating mask expressed nothing except for pain and sadness. The usual cheerful and bright colours of his paintings turned pale, his feathers hung down and the light normally dancing in his eyes had disappeared.

"Thank you Crunch", Aku said, "for bringing Coco back." With that the mask floated over to Coco who still refused to stand up.

"Coco", he began, "I'm so sorry for letting this happen ... I ... I don't know what to say ..."

Coco shook her head, covering her face with her hands.

"I don't know what to do without him", she whispered before she burst into tears.

Crunch sat down by her side, embraced her tightly and caressed her back, knowing that as soon as Coco had calmed down he would have to go back into the jungle to take care of an unpleasant responsibility ...


	5. Chapter 5

_**Nightfall - Chapter 5**_

Coco stared at the ceiling. After Crunch had set off into the forest for a reason she didn't know Aku had convinced her to lie down a few hours. But even though every inch of her tired body begged for sleep her mind just wouldn't let her come to rest. She groaned faintly and pulled the blanket over her head. Curling up under the protection of the sheet she finally felt her mind calming down, allowing the young bandicoot to drift into a restless sleep ...

She awoke with a start, her sleep ended by a sudden noise. For a moment she didn't know where she was as the blanket pulled over her head robbed her every clue of her location. Beginning to panic she freed herself from the sheet and jumped to her feet. Her mind was only slowly waking up, making it hard for Coco to become fully aware of her situation. Pressing a hand to her temple she wondered if she was going insane after all.

Taking a few deep breaths Coco left her room and headed for the staircase that connected the upper floor with the ground floor. She sat down on a step, leaned her head against the banister and anxiously peeked down into the living room. She didn't have to wait long to discover the source of the noise that had awoken her. A few moments after she had settled down Crunch entered the small living room, his entire body covered in dust and sweat, leaves and twigs hanging in his reddish fur. He made his way over to the bathroom and locked the door behind him.

Coco frowned. She couldn't get an inkling of Crunch's strange behaviour. Since she had nothing else to do she closed her eyes and focused on the familiar sounds of her home, the running shower, the soft whisper of the jungle, the cheerful chirping of the birds sitting in front of the windows. Her home.

And yet ... it didn't feel like home.

Following a sudden urge she stood up, hesitantly walking down the hallway. She passed her own room as well as the second bathroom before she came to a halt in front of a third door. Behind this door lay Crash's abandoned room.

Her instincts told her not to open the door, knowing that the sight of her brother's messy bedroom would bring the pain back into her just calmed down mind. But her body didn't care for any objections. Coco's hand reached for the door handle, pulled it down and -

"Coco!"

She gave a start and quickly backed from the door. Turning her head she faced Crunch who was standing on the landing. Silence fell between the two bandicoots, each one staring at the other, unsure of what to say. It was Crunch who eventually started to speak.

"Come on, we are waiting for you." Saying nothing more he began to walk downstairs.

Confusion spread out on Coco's face.

"But ... where are we going?", she asked, hurrying down the stairs to keep up with the taller bandicoot.

"You'll see ..."

Once again Coco found herself climbing through the thicket, following Crunch without knowing where he would lead her. Aku Aku floated somewhere above her head, and even Pura and Polar took part in the procession.

"We're almost there", Crunch informed the group. He forced himself through a pair of bushes and waited for his companions to do the same.

Coco realized they were standing on a hidden clearing. Gazing around the natural beauty of the scenery simply amazed her; a pond lay in the middle of the meadow, its surface reflecting the colours of the setting sun. Flowers showed between the high blades of grass.

And then Coco's eyes fell upon the gravestone, a plain white stone placed at the shore in the middle of the pasture.

"I haven't managed to write a dedication yet", Crunch said while he tried to read the expressions on his friends' faces.

Coco opened her mouth, but the words she intended to say just wouldn't form on her tongue. She didn't doubt that everybody around her, especially Crunch, expected her to say something, but she just couldn't.

She turned away, starting to walk back into the jungle, away from her stunned friends. "I'm sorry ..." she muttered, her voice wavering. Entering the loneliness of the forrest she scolded herself. As Crash's sister it was her responsibility to thank Crunch for his help and to say a few words and, which was even more important than anything else, to pull herself together.

She gave a half-hearted sigh and changed her direction. Approaching the clearing for a second try she suddenly heard voices. She perked up her eyes.

"I guess she just needs time now ..." She recognized Aku's voice, soon followed by Crunch's.

"I'm sure she does. Do you think Cortex will let us alone now that he has achieved his goal?"

"I hope so ... well, it looks like he has won after all."

"No, he hasn't", Coco growled to herself. And all of a sudden she knew what she had to do.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Nightfall - Chapter 6**_

Aku Aku looked up to the stars. He had witnessed the deaths of so many, of heros and warriors, of villains and foes, of friends and relatives. Immortality, once given to him as a gift, more and more turned out to be a curse he couldn't escape from. In nights like these he tended to contemplate his destiny. He had spent his entire life fighting evil and defending good, but when darkness fell upon him he wondered if this eternal war could ever be settled once and for all.

He continued staring at the sky, but suddenly he sensed somebody behind his back; he whirled round, only to see a black shadow disappearing in the nearby jungle. Aku gasped, but instead of permitting the shock to overwhelm his emotions he slowly moved forwards the edge of the jungle, painstakingly scanning the area, yet without success. The darkness of the thicket swallowed everything, giving neiter a clue of the creature's presence nor of its possible escape route.

Coming to the conclusion that he had been tricked by his overstrung and tired mind Aku Aku turned his back on the mysterious world that lay behind the jungle edge and hovered forwards the world he belonged to, his home, the cosy cottage where his protégés were fast asleep ...

A pair of green eyes observed each of the mask's movements through a gap in the foliage. Cowering motionless in the shade of a shrub Coco waited patiently for Aku to float back into the house. As soon as he had entered the hut the young bandicoot leapt to her feet and rushed deeper into the undergrowth. Dressed completely in black her silhouette fused with the omnipresent darkness, only her blond hair that fell in soft curls over her shoulders was glistening in the pale moonlight.

The route she had taken was still fresh in her mind, nevertheless she was relieved when the clearing appeared in front of her. Leaving the darkness behind Coco moved on towards the peaceful pond until she reached her brother's grave. The sight of the tombstone sent shivers down her spine and erased every single word from her tongue, but she knew that this was most likely the last chance to say good-bye to Crash. Kneeling beside the simple stone she paused for a moment before she subsequently put a small bunch of flowers onto the gravestone. She quickly stood up again and turned round, ready to take on the long way that awaited her.

Once again she had not the slightest problem with finding the right path. The jungle had left some marks on her body, scratches and soft bruises, but nothing that seriously bothered her. What bothered her instead was the question she had not been able to answer yet: how was she supposed to enter Cortex' stronghold?

Hiding behind a tall tree Coco observed the situation, sighing in frustration. A dangerous silence surrounded the castle that seemed to pierce the black sky; Coco shivered at the mere thought of entering this dreadful building.

Her hand glided into a side-pocket of her trousers and took out a small item, her electronic notebook. It contained copies of every important file on her laptop, but was considerably smaller and therefore more practically. Coco opened some blueprints of the stronghold and checked them for possible weak spots.

All in all there were three ways to invade the castle: the main entrance, the hidden door Crunch had discovered and a hatchway on the roof.

Coco switched off the notebook and fastened it on her belt. She held a strong aversion against the way through the main door, and the door she and Crunch had used for their flight had certainly been repaired by now.

Coco looked up to the roof of the castle. She realized that the windows, some of them dark, some illuminated, were furnished with trelliswork, so she could try and use the bars to scale the roof. Climbing up all the way to the top would bring her to the edge of her powers, but as she had already figured out, there was no other way.

She took a deep breath, gathered all her bravery and whiped every disturbing concern away from her mind. And then she dashed out of the safe forest, hurried over the illuminated clearing where she would be easy to spot and finally stepped into the shadow of the castle. Just as her hand reached for the lowest bar her sensitive ears picked up a soft, barely audible sound, a soft humming.

Electricity! The windows were secured with high voltage.

Immediately she pulled her hand away from the bar, knowing that one single touch would be enough to send her into unconsciousness.

But things got even worse when she heard laughter and footsteps. At least two persons were somewhere near, most likely some of Cortex' minions on a patrol. And they came closer with every second that passed by.

"Oh no ... please", Coco whimpered, desperately scanning the area for a hideout. She was sure that she had only a few seconds left until the minions would round the corner; not enough time to run back into the jungle.

Somewhere under the panic that controlled her thinking a crazy idea grew, a risky and dangerous plan that would most likely fail, but it was all Coco had. Closing her eyes she prepared herself for transforming her idea from thought into reality, hoping with all her heart that the plan would work ...

"Hey, look at this, mate!" Dingodile pointed at something in the darkness.

Tiny scratched his head and shrugged his shoulders. "Tiny do not see anything ..." he confessed while the hybrid approached whatever his eyes had just spotted.

Dingodile narrowed his eyes. It took some time until he realized who was lying in front of him.

"Well well, if it ain't Coco Bandicoot", he smirked. She looked quite different than the last time he had seen her; instead of the usual jeans and t-shirt she wore large black pants and a tight black top and her hair, always tied together to a ponytail, now fell in open curls over her shoulders. She seemed to be unconscious. Dingodile kneeled down beside her and checked her pulse.

"She's still alive. I wonder what -" His glance met the bars, their buzzing answered his unspoken question.

Dingodile laughed to himself and shook his head. "So you're supposed to be a smart one? Sorry, can't agree to that, sheila ..." He picked up the light girl, changed his direction and moved back to the main entrance where they had just come from.

"Go and inform the doc about her presence", he instructed his companion. "I'll take her to the dungeon ... once more."

While he did so Dingodile pondered the question why the bandicoot had returned to the castle all alone and without any weapons. She truly had made herself an easy prey.

He reached his destination, the dark dungeon of the castle. Pushing the door open by using his tail he put the captive girl down in the middle of a cell, then turned his back on her and left the room.

"Hope you'll stay a bit longer this time", he sneered, but when he turned round to close the door his grin froze.

The cell was empty.

Confusion spread out on the hybrid's face. "What the ..." He asked, stepping back into the middle of the cell.

He noticed the movement behind his back too late; Coco had already left her position by the door where she had waited for her enemy to re-enter the cell and shut the door right in Dingodile's face.

He jumped at the door with an angry yell and threw his body against the wood. The door didn't move, and Dingodile slowly realized that now he was the captivated one.

Growling and yelling in pure rage he hammered his heavy fists against the wood. "Oh, you'll be so sorry for that, sheila", he snarled, "just wait till I get my hands on you ..."


End file.
